Yearly Archives: 2014

What Is Forgiveness?

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What Is Forgiveness? Jack Cottrell – November 2014 QUESTION: Must we or should we Christians forgive someone who sins against us and refuses to repent? Some people say that we must forgive regardless, but that does not mean we have to restore fellowship to the unrepentant offender. Others say that Christians are not required to forgive unless the offender repents. If the offender does not repent, the fellowship stays broken. What do you say? Must we give forgiveness unconditionally, or not? ANSWER: What does it mean for us as human beings to forgive other human beings who offend us (sin … Continue reading →

YOUR WORST ENEMY: DEATH

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YOUR WORST ENEMY: DEATH! (A sermon by Jack Cottrell — October 2014) INTRODUCTION. We all know about villains: Darth Vader, Hannibal Lecter, Freddy Krueger, Godzilla, the Joker, the Penguin—to name a few fictitious ones. In real life we could name Stalin, Hitler, Idi Amin, Pol Pot, and Sadam Hussein. The worst villain of all, though, is DEATH! The event of death may be defined simply and briefly as the loss of life. As a state, death is simply the absence of life (where life is the normal state). It is a state of separation from the source of life. We … Continue reading →

What Was Nailed to the Cross?

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WHAT WAS NAILED TO THE CROSS? (A Communion Meditation by Jack Cottrell – November 2014) Back on March 23 (2014), when giving our order of worship, our Sunday bulletin indicated that our Communion Hymn would be “Burdens Are Lifted at Calvary.” Only instead of saying “Burdens Are LIFTED at Calvary,” it said “Burdens are LISTED at Calvary”! Well, this was obviously a typographical error, to be sure. But when I saw it, the first thing I thought of was Colossians 2:13-14, which (in the ESV) says that God has “forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt … Continue reading →

What Are You Wearing? A Communion Meditation

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“Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer garments and made four parts, a part to every soldier and also the tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece. So they said to one another, ‘Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be’; this was to fulfill the Scripture: ‘They divided My outer garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.’ Therefore the soldiers did these things” (John 19:23-25a, NASB). This makes me wonder what happened to the tunic (the inner layer of clothing). One … Continue reading →

Is It Biblical to call Ministers “Pastors”?

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QUESTION: Is there any problem with applying the term “pastor” to ministers of the local church? ANSWER: In the New Testament the descriptive word “pastor” (which is identical to our word “shepherd”), in both its noun and verb forms, when used of church leaders, is used only of the elders of the church. The verb (poimainō) is also used once for the apostle Peter (John 21:16) and several times for Jesus (Matt. 2:6; four times in Revelation). It is used for elders in Acts 20:28 and 1 Peter 5:2. The noun (poimēn) is used mostly for Jesus (John 10:11ff.; Heb. … Continue reading →

WHOSE NAME WAS ON THE CUP?

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WHOSE NAME WAS ON THE CUP? A Communion Meditation Jack Cottrell, July 2014 [For a recent communion meditation at the church where I serve, I brought a prop to the pulpit with me. It was a fairly large coffee cup that had a name engraved on it: the name of my wife, Barbara. I held the cup prominently in my hands as I gave the following thoughts:] In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me” (Matthew 26:39, ESV). What WAS that cup? What was IN that cup? In Bible … Continue reading →

What Is Central in Our Lives?

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WHAT IS CENTRAL IN OUR LIVES? JACK COTTRELL – AUGUST 2014 For decades I have tried to expose and refute a theological error I call “the Christological fallacy.” It is indeed a serious error in Christology, or the true understanding of the person and work of Jesus. It is also a serious error in theological method, and as such it is the source of many other errors in the interpretation and application of Scripture. What is this “Christological fallacy”? It is the attempt to make Christ an epistemological principle, rather than the Redeemer he came to be. It sees Jesus … Continue reading →

An Escape from Calvinism

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AN ESCAPE FROM CALVINISM: YOUNG, RESTLESS, NO LONGER REFORMED A Book by AUSTIN FISCHER Reviewed by Jack Cottrell, August 2014 Austin Fischer is not yet 30 years old, but he has experienced a very interesting theological pilgrimage which he describes in his book, Young, Restless, No Longer Reformed: Black Holes, Love, and a Journey in and Out of Calvinism (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books [Wipf & Stock], 2014; pb, 116pp.). He feels that his reflections on his journey might be helpful to others who are wrestling with the “mysteries” of Reformed theology. I agree that they may be of some help. … Continue reading →

THE HEART OF THE GOSPEL: ROMANS 3:21-26

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Romans is my favorite book of the Bible, and Romans 3:21-26 is my favorite passage in this epistle. I have a series of 28 lessons on the first eight chapters of Romans, including the one that follows here. (This is also found in my book, Set Free! What the Bible Says About Grace, 190-193.) The first main section of Romans (1:18-3:20) is all about LAW. It makes three points: (1) Everyone knows some law. (2) Everyone has broken this law at some point. (3) Thus no one can be right with God by law-keeping. What, then, is our hope for … Continue reading →

WAS JESUS OMNISCIENT?

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QUESTION: Did Jesus’ divine nature include omniscience? Was Jesus all-knowing? If so, how do we explain Matthew 24:36? ANSWER: Many crucial Christian beliefs are involved in the answer to such questions, e.g., the immutability (unchangeableness) of God, the nature of the incarnation, and especially the divine nature of Jesus, which is the presupposition for the substitutionary atonement. Unless Jesus was fully divine and thus infinite in nature, He could not have been the propitiation for our sins, suffering the equivalent of eternity in hell for the entire human race in the finite event of the cross. (See my book, What … Continue reading →